Nihal Tamim

Egyptian entrepreneur who revolutionized education access through technology-driven platforms.

Nihal Tamim (born 1978) is a pioneering Egyptian tech entrepreneur whose work has transformed education accessibility in the Middle East. As co-founder of LearnPlus (2010), she developed an AI-driven platform that provides affordable STEM education to underserved communities. The platform's adaptive learning algorithms have reached over 1 million students across 15 countries, with a 70% gender parity in enrollment.

Tamim's approach combines edtech innovation with community engagement, creating offline learning hubs in rural areas without internet access. Her work in Egypt's informal settlements led to partnerships with UNESCO and the World Bank. She also co-founded the Aflatoun initiative, which integrates financial literacy into primary education curricula.

Her advocacy for digital equity includes speeches at the World Economic Forum and collaborations with MIT's Media Lab. Tamim was named one of Africa's Top 100 Innovators by the Financial Times in 2020. Her vision of 'education as a public utility' has inspired similar platforms in Nigeria and Kenya. LearnPlus's success has been chronicled in Harvard Business School case studies and the documentary Code for Change.